This invention relates to fittings for electrically conducting electrical junction boxes and specifically to an improved fitting that provides improved electrical continuity between the fitting, the cable, and the junction box.
Historically, the most common form of attaching cable and electrical metal tubing (EMT) to electrical junction boxes was by means of an interior-threaded lock nut, which is screwed onto the exterior-threaded electrical fitting that extends into the junction box.
Recently, snap fitting connectors have become popular as a means of connecting cables to electrical junction boxes. One such type of snap fitting is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,373,106 (hereinafter the ""106 patent) issued Dec. 13, 1994, and entitled xe2x80x9cSnap In Cable Connectorxe2x80x9d. This patent disclosed a quick connect fitting for an electrical junction box including a spring steel spring member that improved the ease of use and reduced the time involved in securing electrical connectors to electrical junction boxes. This application also disclosed the use of outward-bent tensioner tangs to provide electrical continuity or ground between the electrical connector, the junction box, and the source leading to the box as an integral part of the design of the connector.
Although the ""106 patent provided an improved quick connect fitting, the present invention further improves the functionality of the quick connect fitting by providing a tensioner or grounding tang of a novel design that holds the quick connect fitting more tightly to the junction box and therefore vastly improves the electrical continuity and lowers the millivolt droop between the fitting, the cable, and the junction box. These and other advantages will become apparent by reading the attached specification and claims in conjunction with reference to the attached drawings.
The present invention comprises a fitting that exhibits improved electrical continuity between the fitting, the cable, and the junction box. The fitting features a hollow electrical connector having an electrical conducting spring member surrounding its leading end with the member including one or more grounding tangs and spring locking members cantilevered from its outer circumference. When the fitting is pushed into a hole in a junction box, the locking members are first compressed by the surrounding wall of the junction box and after clearing the wall snap outwards to lock the fitting into the box. The grounding tangs, located near the trailing end of the spring member, extend at a rising slope from their supported end to a crest and then at a downward slope back towards the fitting such that when the fitting is pressed into a hole in a junction box, the grounding tangs are compressed by the surrounding wall of the junction box toward the fitting until the crest clears the surrounding wall whereupon the springiness of the grounding tangs and the downward slope cause the fitting to be drawn tightly against the junction box wall and therefore vastly improve electrical continuity between the fitting, cable, and box.